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SS16: The New Nineties

Givenchy / Vetements / Victoria Beckham

There was a clear sense of déjà vu on the catwalks this season, as while designers often take inspiration from the past to create their new collections, as Robin Givhan, fashion editor for the Washington Post, recently noted in an article for Elle magazine, never has a decade dominated like the Nineties has done this spring/summer season.

Designers from all four fashion capitals chose to celebrate the era, with some adopting a sleek, minimalist aesthetic, à la Nineties Calvin Klein or Helmut Lang, and others clearly taken by the just thrown-together grunge style famously sent down the Perry Ellis catwalk by Marc Jacobs in 1992.

It’s hard to imagine that one particular decade can take such a hold on current fashion, and there have been many theories put forward to try and explain the fascination, from a collective sense of nostalgia felt by many of today’s designers, who started out in their careers during the decade, to a yearning to return to a more relaxed, simpler style of dressing in defiance of fashion’s perfectionism and ever faster pace over recent seasons.

Whatever the reason, the decade does offer up many items that I for one am quite happy to revisit. Unlike other eras I could mention…

For more Nineties’ nostalgia take a look on Vogue Runway, where they have been adding images from this pre-digital age to their catalogue of catwalk shows over the past few months. Or read Edward Enninful’s personal reflections on the decade in his ‘Best (And Worse) Fashion Moments’ piece for W.